Work accident claim awards £300,000 in compensation

Wayne Miller has been left permanently disabled when his attempt to conduct machinery repair at specialist paper and materials firm James Cropper PLC. The Cumbria native had his arm dragged into the rotating rollers of the machine when his sleeve became entangled within its workings.

According to Mr Miller’s accident claim, he suffered severe personal injuries in the incident. His injuries included serious friction burns which sustained damage to nerves in the wrist of the arm pulled into the machine. Mr Miller’s injuries were severe enough to require reconstructive surgical procedures to correct the damage. However he still has the inability to grip with his left hand. As a result he has had no choice but to give up manual work.

James Cropper PLC initially settled out of court with Mr Miller. The man’s employer admitted their liability and awarded £375,000 in personal injury compensation to their former employee. Mr Miller’s total compensation was reduced by £75,000 however after his admission that he was a contributing factor to the incident because he had removed some of the guards on the machine. Additionally Mr Miller went against company policy by choosing to conduct the maintenance on his own.

In the wake of the incident Mr Miller has found an alternative place of employment. After spending nearly a decade and a half as an employee of James Cropper PLC, the injured man is now employed by Electricity North West’s Kendal branch.

The 48 year old Miller described his injuries as ‘bloody,’ stating that his hand swelled up to several times its natural size and was bruised so badly as to appear to be tinted green.